A very rare Thursday night game for the Bears this week. I had a look at my records going back to 2003 and couldn't find one. It was a quick look, so I might have missed it.

The team list is posted on the NS website (see below). There might be some changes as three players named in the squad are also named on the South Sydney extended bench for its Friday afternoon game against Canterbury - Anthony Cherrington, Robbie Rochow and Tyrell Fuimaono. Brett Greinke is making his season debut - he is contracted to Souths and played quite a few games for NS last season but has been injured this year.

Wyong is currently coming second, equal on points with third placed NS but in front on the back of a better F&A. Of the six rounds so far, both sides have played four of the same teams - Canterbury, Newcastle, Wentworthville and Wests Tigers. Wyong has a W4 L0 record against these clubs, we're 3-1. The difference is Wests Tigers whom Wyong defeated 42-0 in Round 1 whereas we lost 18-16 in Round 5.

We've also played Mounties (4th) and Blacktown (11th), while Wyong has played Penrith (5th) and Illawarra (9th).

The game is being broadcast by Steele Sports Radio at www.steelesports.com.au - the commentators said last week that coverage would start at 6PM but the ad below says 6:30 (which is when the match starts - however, note that all the times given are match times, but they're always on air beforehand).

Double Header as North Sydney Return to Bear Park Under Lights
by Steve Little
April 11, 2017

The Bears are back in the winners circle having defeated the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in a close encounter last weekend by 8 points to 6.

This Thursday night we take on heavyweights Wyong Roos in a clash that will determine the outright second spot on the ladder.

This is our first game back at North Sydney Oval for the season, Barney The Bear will be there, so why not start your Easter long weekend off at Bear Park Thursday night.

Now that the season is in full swing, don’t forget to grab your Bears gear in our merchandise store.

Gates open at 4:45 pm with action kicking off at 5:15 pm with a New South Wales Rugby League Tarsha Gale Cup Elimination Final between Penrith Panthers and Sydney Indigenous, with the main game commencing at 6:30 pm.

Brett Greinke is making his season debut - he is contracted to Souths and played quite a few games for NS last season but has been injured this year.

The Rabbitohs website has posted an article that Greinke wrote. He broke his ankle quite badly just before Christmas but he writes that he "returned to running about a month ago and now I’m looking to play this Thursday against Wyong for the Bears. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I’ll be in contention for an NRL spot."

He missed a bit of last season because of illness. He says that he "finished playing in round 18 or 19 (of 2016)" after having been given the rest of the year off due to his illness. His last game for Norths was in Round 19; he was named in Round 20 but didn't play. He played six games for the Bears after joining from Brisbane in mid May. His first game for the Bears was in Round 11.

I came to the Rabbitohs because I wanted the opportunity. I really love what the Club is about, the culture Madge (Michael Maguire) brings to the Club and the values the Club has.

I joined South Sydney in May last year just after the Queensland Residents game which I was lucky enough to play in. I was at the Broncos since 2011 and had signed there when I was 17.

I missed the 2016 preseason for the Broncos because I got diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis which is an inflammatory bowel disease from the Crohn’s family. So I was a bit underdone during the season and still kind of sick when I moved down here. I played a couple games for the North Sydney Bears and Madge was letting me know I was pretty close to playing NRL so I didn’t really tell the Club the extent of my illness – which was a bad call.

From there it kind of got worse and worse.

I wasn’t really happy with my form and the Club knew I had dropped some kilos and couldn’t really run. I was underweight and couldn’t really last 10 minutes in NSW Cup and decided I had to let them know.

The reason I kept it from them was because I was so close to first grade. I’d never been that close before and that was what I had strived to do since I was a kid. I could see it and could almost reach out and grab it but I physically wasn’t able to do it.

It was a bit hard because mentally I was ticking all the boxes and prepared to do it but my body wasn’t capable of doing what my mind was telling it to do.

The Club were really good, they handled it well. They hooked me up with a really good doctor down here and gave me the rest of the year off so I think I finished playing in round 18 or 19.

In hindsight I didn’t handle it well. What I should have done is moved here, addressed that first, got better then there might have been an opening for me to play first grade. I just wanted to play, I thought “I’ll be right, I’ll get through it.”

The last eight or nine rounds I was doing like a mini-preseason. I was pretty much just in the cardio room the whole time, getting fit and getting my stomach right.

Then the offseason came but I was pretty fresh from not playing so I trained hard and came into preseason in pretty good shape. 105kgs, fit, probably the best shape I’ve ever been in.

But then, third week of this preseason, I broke my ankle in a wrestling drill. It was one of those freak accidents. I broke my fibula, dislocated the ankle and had a grade three syndesmosis on the ligament so I did a pretty good job.

That same night I went into hospital and had surgery. The Club looked after me really well. Madge rang me up that night, Eddie Farah (Rabbitohs Physiotherapist) and Andrew McDonald (Club Doctor) were with me the whole time. Our doctor was one of the guys in the surgery. They looked after me well and I was on crutches until Christmas.

It was pretty hard emotionally, pretty frustrating. I missed the 2016 preseason then I missed the 2017 preseason. But the boys really helped get me through it. Harry Harris (Head Strength and Power Coach), Madge, Eddie and all the boys were really good.

Being injured I’ve travelled and done a bit with Souths Cares since being at Souths and it’s been really good. I was a part of the Indigenous Oral Health Tour at the start of the year in Tuncurry, and we’ve also visited local schools to talk about living well.

During the season last year the team visited the Sydney Children’s Hospital – I got a lot out of that.

At the time I wasn’t in the best headspace and I just wanted to finish the season. It was pretty eye-opening because I thought I was sick but we were interacting with people who were in hospital 24/7 and it really resonated with me.

I’m a proud Indigenous man. When I was in Brisbane I spent five days a week working as a teacher’s aide, freelance Indigenous dance teaching and doing cultural work up there. That’s something I wanted to bring down here.

The fact that Souths is really proud of the Indigenous heritage of the area is something that I was really happy about. Richo (General Manager of Football Shane Richardson) and Madge have spoken about it to me a lot. They’re really proud of the history of the Club and its Indigenous connection so I focused a lot of work with Souths Cares on Indigenous issues to keep in contact with that side of me.

I’m learning a lot. I’ve been in contact with my Indigenous family – it’s a bit of a long story but my mum was adopted so I didn’t have contact with her side of the family. I’ve always wanted to learn about my Indigenous side but it was hard to learn about this stuff when you don’t have an Indigenous family around.

But, growing up, I was lucky enough to go to a high school with the most Indigenous kids in the Brisbane Catholic education system. We had the most Indigenous kids, we had around 70. I did a lot of Indigenous dance and art during school.

I got a job being an Indigenous liaison officer at another high school when I was 19 and playing in the under 20s. Through that I got into contact with other high schools and a few primary schools but when I went into first grade I couldn’t do that job anymore so I had to cut back to one day a week volunteering.

I returned to running about a month ago and now I’m looking to play this Thursday against Wyong for the Bears. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I’ll be in contention for an NRL spot.

An NRL debut would be pretty big, I’ve always had that hunger, I’ve had a couple of setbacks in the past 18 months but I look at guys like Jordan Kahu and Aaron Gray who have had knee surgeries and I think how as bad as my situation was there are guys that had it worse that are doing well.

I’m over the injury, over the sickness, I’m off medication now and I’ve become a bit of a nutrition nut. My diet is what keeps me on top of everything. Paul Devlin (Head of High Performance) and Ryan Pinto (Rabbitohs Nutritionist) helped me out. I was like their little test subject. Ryan took me shopping and I’ve done a lot of practical work with them.

I’m feeling pretty fit – the last five or six weeks I’ve been smashing it on the field. I’m probably as fit and strong as I’ve ever been at this weight.

It’s a bit annoying knowing I could’ve been ten levels above this with a preseason under my belt but knowing that I’m in a good space now I know that when a first grade opportunity presents itself I’ll be ready to take it.

I won’t be second guessing it because I’ve done everything I could to take it. I still have a pretty bright future ahead of me if I’m willing to put in the work. I’m still pretty young.

I want to play NRL and this is the Club I can see myself playing NRL with for my whole career. That’s why I came down here.

I wonder how many people actually log on to those live streams. Steele Sports must be able to tell through google analytics or something.

There must be a reasonable number, otherwise they'd give it up, but they're expanding the coverage. I listen when I can, almost always when NS is playing (I occasionally miss), but to other ones as well.

A few changes to NS's team, including one number switch, in summary two out of the squad and two in:

6:42 A North Sydney line drop out goes 60m but Wyong returns it forcefully and after a tackle or two opens the scoring with a try through what's described as "some pretty feeble defence". Conversion successful, Wyong 6-0.
6:43PM North Sydney Bears‏ 8' R7 Roos score & convert 6-6 Bears V Roos
6:43PM Wyong Roos‏‏ Try to Connor Watson converted by Jayden Nikorima @wyongroos lead 6 @NthSydneyBears 0

6:48PM North Sydney putting themselves under pressure giving away stupid penalties. Bears hold on - commentator Albi Talarico thinks this show of defence could be a turning point for the Bears.

6:57PM Commentators lamenting NS's last tackle options - say that they had Wyong on the ropes but made bad choices, or poor execution (e.g. a nothing kick into the in goal that went dead). And shortly after they said that, Wyong made a break and was very close to scoring. NS defuses it but knocks the ball on, and Wyong gets a 10m scrum. Wyong then gets a penalty from in front, so goes for goal. Commentators said that it's a compliment to NS's defence. Wyong 8-0.

7:06PM NS benefits from three penalties in a row to go on the attack. Clayton Williams almost gets through and Piki Rogers is held up over the line, but the attack breaks down with another ineffectual kick that is easily cleaned up by Wyong.

Commentators say that Wyong has given a disciplined display, whereas North Sydney has been disorganised and has given away too many silly penalties. The Bears need to tighten up around the ruck and improve their marker defence.

They have called out Fuimaono's name during the call - this may be because of the number that Murphy is wearing.

What a woeful second half performance to add to the ordinary first half display. The final score was 34-6 with the NS try coming in the 79th minute.

Second half notes/tweets
Commentators query whether or not it is in fact Fuimaono - say it could be Murphy, they'll check.

7:30PM North Sydney on the attack, looking good, but penalised for obstruction as players don't seem to know what the play is. A coach killer as the commentators say.

7:33PM Another NS line drop out. In comparison, our final play kicks result in Wyong getting 25m taps for seven tackle plays.

7:34PM Moceidreke leaps high to grab a Wyong bomb and gets out of the in-goal. However, NS turns over possession a tackle or so later. Albi Talarico says that while the Bears might be five from six, the way they're playing, they won't win another game all season. Another penalty to Wyong from the resulting set - successful. Wyong 10-0.

7:40PM NS gets a penalty but Clayton Williams knocks on on first tackle around the half way line. Almost immediately, Wyong gets another penalty - NS taking too long in the tackle. NS's defence seems to be holding, but Wyong scores on the last.

7:42PM Wyong scores again on the first set from the kickoff - NS allows a bomb to bounce and it's scooped up by the Roos.
7:42PM North Sydney Bears 56' R7 Roos score to the right & convert 0-16 Bears V Roos
7:43PM Wyong Roos Try to Chris Smith converted by Jayden Nikorima @wyongroos 16 @NthSydneyBears 0. 25 min left till full time

7:52PM NS has an overlap and looks set to score but former Bear Chris Centrone stops the play with an attempted intercept that he knocks on. Piki Rogers almost breaks the line following the resulting scrum.

7:54PM Wyong goes what seems the length of the field to score under the posts. Chris Centrone pushes off three defenders on his way to the line. Commentators describe NS's performance as lacklustre.
7:56PM North Sydney Bears 66' R7 Roos in again close to posts & convert 0-28 Bears V Roos
7:56PM Wyong Roos Try to Chris Centrone converted by Jayden Nikorima @wyongroos 28 @NthSydneyBears 0. 13min till full time

8:02PM Chris Centrone gets his second try and is shoulder charged afterwards for his trouble. Touchies come on. Could have been a potential 8 point try but the referee lets it go. Conversion successful after brushing the upright.
8:02PM Wyong Roos‏ Try to Chris Centrone converted by Jayden Nikorima @wyongroos 34 @NthSydneyBears 0. 5 min till full time
8:04PM North Sydney Bears 74' R7 Roos in again right of posts & convert 0-34 Bears V Roos

8:10PM Finally NS does something with the ball and Tasi scores in the corner, courtesy of a long pass from Moceidreke. The siren goes before Levido's successful conversion attempt from the sideline. Final score 34-6.
8:12PM North Sydney Bears 79' R7 Bears are in out wide & convert 6-34 Bears V Roos

Mounties takes on NZW on Saturday, so positions may go back to the way they were.

*****
Roos Tame Bears
Tom Skolarikis
Thu 13th April, 08:15PM

The Wyong Roos have made a strong statement this evening by accounting for the North Sydney Bears by 34-6 at North Sydney Oval in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW.

Despite a strong show of support from the Bears faithful at the club’s spiritual home, a dominant performance by Roos five-eighth, Jayden Nikorima, saw the playmaker kick seven goals from seven attempts, while Connor Watson and Chris Centrone both grabbed try-scoring doubles to help their side to a convincing victory.

The Roos snared first points in part thanks to a penalty against the Bears for hands in the ruck that eventually led to a repeat set for Wyong. With the Bears desperately defending their own line, Nikorima threw a pass out to fullback Watson, who crashed over out wide. Nikorima added the extras to make it 6-0 in favour of the Roos after 10 minutes.

Another penalty to Wyong shortly afterwards would see the visitors again have a throw of the dice inside Norths’ 20-metre line. But while the Roos continued to look dangerous with the ball in hand, the home-side’s defence would hold strong.

With 25 minutes gone, Nikorima chanced his hand with a beautiful chip over the top in centre-field before regathering on the first bounce, only to be taken down 20 metres short of the line. But while the Bears were able to scramble to diffuse the situation, Nikorima would add an extra two points to his team’s score-card not long afterwards when a penalty was blown right in front of the sticks, bringing the score to 8-0 with 12 minutes left in the opening stanza.

The Bears looked to strike back when they received two penalties in quick succession inside the Roos’ 10 metre line shortly before half-time, but despite multiple promising attacking raids, Norths were unable to finish — the Roos heading into the sheds with an eight point advantage.

On the resumption, the Bears were seemingly through inside the first minute of play when Jamal Hunt broke through and only had to put the ball down. But the play was called back by the referee on the grounds of an obstruction earlier in the piece.

But it would again be the Roos who would draw blood with another penalty goal to Nikorima before an energetic run from Brendan Santi saw the back-rower crash over from close-range. Nikorima again converted from out wide to make it 16-0.

The Roos would pick up where they left off from their very next set, when Nikorima’s final-tackle bomb wasn’t diffused by the Bears, allowing Watson to race through and grab his second. Nikorima was again on song with the boot, putting the visitors 22 points clear.

The try would briefly spark Norths into action — the Bears upping the tempo in attack with some strong charges close to the line. But the Roos were unperturbed, repelling wave after wave of red and black attack.

Wyong would then turn defence into attack when Watson broke clean through the Bears defence — the fullback sprinting some 40 metres before throwing on overhead pass back inside to Chris Centrone who strolled over to score. Nikorima made it six from six with the boot to make it 28-0.

With eight minutes in the match remaining, a slick backline movement saw Centrone finish up with his second of the night before Nikorima kept his goal-kicking record intact at seven from seven despite hitting the upright in his attempt.

Norths would desperately try to open their scoring account late in the game, and would finally come up with a consolation try through Tautalatasi Tasi on the stroke of full-time — the winger racing over in the corner to touch down. Eli Levido converted from the touch-line to bring the final score to 34-6 in favour of the Roos.

I remember something similar happening at NSO last year....but we exacted revenge on the Roos at Morry Breen so im hoping we do the same again for us coasties "home" game....remember the Joe Burgess redemption and hat trick before half time well...an awesome afternoon

I remember something similar happening at NSO last year....but we exacted revenge on the Roos at Morry Breen so im hoping we do the same again for us coasties "home" game....remember the Joe Burgess redemption and hat trick before half time well...an awesome afternoon :)

I hope it's a one-off aberration. I've been critical of NS's attack this year, but the defence has generally been pretty sound. So to have Wyong put 34 on us was disappointing.

Fintan O'Laighin wrote:

Mounties takes on NZW on Saturday, so positions may go back to the way they were.

This game was a 30-all draw so NS stays in fourth:

1. New Zealand Warriors 13 (+101)
*2. Wyong Roos 12 (+126) (note that this has been corrected from the +130 I had in the earlier post)
*3. Mounties 11 (+40)
4. North Sydney Bears 10 (+32)

We play NZW next Sunday - it would be good to have 2/3 from the other teams in the top 4.